Dream or Reality

We live in a present world of our own making.  We pillow our head at night, exhausted, because of the mental strain from pressures around us.  The compromises created for ourselves cause us to fall prey to fatigue not only at work, but home as well.  It is a relentless, never ceasing demand to perform.  Life becomes a mental whirlwind of hurry up, rush here, and dash there.

When a vacation to a popular resort avails itself, we often take our laptop computer, cell phone, and palm pilot to remind us of those all-important calls that must be made, leaving little time to stop and smell the roses, or to just kick back and refresh oneself.  Looking inward at our own psyche to examine and understand what the inner thoughts might be saying doesn’t happen. 

If we are not careful, failure to allow needed time for our mind to unwind and regenerate itself can easily ensue.  Future dreams and goals can not be nurtured in quietness, therefore, dreams evade us.  

The Bible has several documented incidents concerning dreams; the understanding of dreams; and how they impacted not only individuals, but nations.  The interpretations of dreams were earnestly sought after, because of strong beliefs that they were doors to the inner psyche of individuals and to the unseen, spiritual world around them.  They believed that dreams provided insight to now and future events. 

People of that day valued the understanding of dreams, not like the inhabitants of our present world.  They took whatever time needed to search out someone that could provide the interpretation, in a relaxed environment.

Many people today view rest and relaxation as a waste of time.  “Get it done at any cost” is the driving force that motivates success, thus, becoming the norm for society.  The person that runs out of hours at the end of the day is the same individual that believes they are the deciding factor for success, and the only means to an end.  Nothing else matters, and no one can do it better than they.  Their thought process goes something like this:  “Who has the time to dwell on foolish dreams, let alone seeking out someone for the interpretation?”  In their opinion, the ramifications of rest and relaxation are deemed unsuccessful and fruitless.

Another group of people are those that look at “play” as their number one goal in life.  The time wasted attempting to decipher a dream that they had the night before is time taken away from their quest for pleasure.  “Who has time for this kind of nonsense?” they question.  They could care less about that mumbo-jumbo.  Dreams don’t interest them, but having fun does.  

As I pen these words, my spirit is uneasy.  The burning sensation in my stomach tells me that there are issues that I must deal with.  My only reserve is not knowing how this writing will be received by the person I am troubled about when he reads it.

God placed a young man in my life that I feel a kindred spirit toward.  I am genuinely concerned for his well-being and future.  It’s not by chance that our paths crossed a few years back when he was pulling wire as an electrician, working in the same city that I work for. 

A host of events took place that directed our paths in such a way that he is now employed by the same city as me.  We share the same office, and he sits at the desk next to mine. 

Before I retire and we part company, I pray that I can be a positive influence on him.  I trust that opportunities will present themselves, whereby, I am able to share thoughts of a positive nature and perhaps touch his life in a helpful way.  I am sure he will touch mine. 

God knows his name, station in life, and cares for him deeply.  God wants to share important things that will revolutionize his life.  I believe for this purpose God orchestrated our meeting earlier, to bring him to the same department that I’m in.  The future holds all of the reasons why.  I’m looking forward to finding out what they are.

I took an instant liking to this fellow the moment I met him.  His charismatic, likeable, and sure of himself personality impressed me.  He’s just that kind of guy.  He has an, “If I can’t do it, it can’t be done,” attitude.  He reminds me of myself when I was much younger;  raising a family; doing what was needed to earn a buck; and stretching it as far as I could to make ends meet.  I endeavored to keep ends tucked in, but found they were becoming frayed and unmanageable at times.   

From the moment we met, to the present, I believe that circumstances directed his path to me.  I call him Kid and he calls me Papa Boyd.  I’m Twenty-Two years his senior.  I like him and he likes me.  What could be nicer?  We have a mutual respect for one another. 

He’s my friend and I’m his, although, it’s not a friendship where we spend a lot of time at each other’s house barbequing, or going fishing, which is the one thing he loves to do best.  We are just buddies, and that’s okay.  He’s a friend that I want to see happy on the inside, although he puts on a “happy go lucky” aura on the outside. 

There is a common bond between us that allows me to relate to him a little deeper than most of the other personnel in our office.  He recently lost someone dear to him.  She was only Fifty-Eight years old at her passing—his mother. 

I felt his pain and sorrow.  Empathy gripped my heart, because I too lost my mom at the same age.  My desire was to comfort him; throw my arms of compassion around his neck; and just hold him tightly.  But I didn’t; I wish now I would have. 

One morning, while drinking our first cup of coffee together, my friend shared a bizarre and confounding dream with me that he had the night before.  After he told me the contents of the dream, including drawings and diagrams on the chalkboard of the details he remembered, I said to him, “Do you want me to give you the interpretation?”  He quickly responded, “I don’t want a Christian’s interpretation of it.”  Then he chuckled and said, “I’m only kidding?”

I sensed by his comment that he already knew what the dream held as life changing information for him, but didn’t want confirmation of it.  I had a few thoughts pertaining to the dream, but I am not a prophet, nor am I a son of one.  Commenting on a perplexing dream as this should only be done if spiritually discerned, and prompted by the Holy Spirit to do so; not off the top of my head.  Time prohibited further discussion, because the affairs of the day were pressing.

It wasn’t until Sunday morning, two or three days later, that clarity of thought manifested itself to me.   I was getting ready for church, like any other Sunday morning, when my mind’s eye was opened.  I saw like I had never seen before. 

I was standing in the shower meditating on my friend’s dream, replaying every image in my mind, thinking about the details that he shared with me when something happened.  Images became words.  The events of his dream began to unfold and meaning took place.  It was as if I were caught up in a different realm of thinking somewhere beyond the norm, yet still in my right mind.

My friend told me that in his dream he was walking down a sidewalk minding his own business, while in the midst of the general hustle and bustle of other people.  It was there he came upon what appeared to be three, blade-like objects of equal length.  The widths were all the same and they were independent of each other.  They were lying in plain sight on the sidewalk directly in his path of travel.  It was as if they were waiting just for him to pass. 

These objects were intriguing enough that my friend reached down and picked them up.  A closer examination revealed that each blade resembled the shape of an old, western style coffin, somewhat like the kind that would have been built by a local carpenter or town’s undertaker in those days. 

Still curious and looking closer, he observed the number 6 imprinted on the top of each blade...three blades, three sixes, and all three shaped like coffins.  The blades were yellow in color.

Fumbling around with them, he tried to manipulate the blades into some sort of semblance.  He took time to work with them rather than tossing them aside and continuing on his way.  The blades finally came together in a strange, but suspicious singular unit at the moment he placed the upper end of each blade at a center point, abutting each other.  They meshed together, interlocking with each other, becoming a solid unit in the shape of a three bladed propeller. 

The unit began to spin at a high rate of speed and became airborne.  Lifting into the air, it hovered like a helicopter.  Suddenly it began to zoom here and there, to and fro, diving at an accelerated speed trying to hit him.  This aggression continued as he dodged the blades, stooping to prevent certain death from its attack. 

He lost sight of the object for a period of time, but then felt something striking him sharply at the back of his neck.  It had returned from behind him and was attempting to decapitate his head.  He awakened from the dream very troubled.

As I pondered these things, it was obvious what the 666 represented—evil and corruption at its worst.  It is the mark of the beast, which is the anti-Christ spoken of in the last book of the Bible; chapter 13 of Revelation. 

The number 6 is the number of man; 2 legs, 2 arms, 1 body, and 1 head; adding up to 6.  The number 666 is his name.  He is the devil that incarnates into human flesh, thus becoming the great deceiver. 

666 represent evil at its base, unclean, and contemptible level of shame.  It is the baneful spirit of Lucifer who takes on the corruptible form of flesh.  The mark 666 is the symbol that mankind will take in their forehead or hand, which seals their doom in hell.  Satan is the enemy of our soul that is going to and fro in a relentless quest to conquer human souls.

When these blades became airborne, they represented powers in high places that are waging war against my friend and those he holds dear.  These principalities and powers of the air are seeking to destroy his life anyway they can.  The spinning blades, zooming here and there, symbolize the devil going about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may kill and devour.

My friend losing sight of the blades is telling him that he’s losing sight of past teachings that warned against the tricks of the devil and his surprise attacks.  The battles waging between good and evil in the cosmos are because of past and present prayers that ascended into heaven on his behalf by those that love him, including the ones that are concerned for his future and well-being now.  Because of these prayers, my friend has been able to ward off the onslaught of 666, and dodge the attempts to take his life.

Taking time to play with the blades and manipulating them is saying that my friend is losing sight of the straight path ahead; becoming taken up with things that will prove to be devastating not only to himself, but to his loved ones at a later time if he doesn’t toss unneeded things aside and quit tinkering with them.  He is allowing his better judgment to be clouded by trivial, unimportant things that can be instrumental in bringing spiritual or physical death. 

The three blades, shaped like coffins, represent one coffin for him and the others for two loved ones.  The blades are trying to take off his head, because he is the priest and head of his household.  In him lie the responsibilities of this position, as being the protector of his home and members thereof. 

I believe he is being given a choice to take up his spiritual sword and protect all those that are precious to him, or he can continue down the same path and be overcome and devoured by the adversary, Satan.  The disruption of his home and relationships are at stake.  If the devil can take him down, chances are this family circle will be destroyed.

The color of the blades is significant.  Yellow is a symbol of jealousy and deceit.  In the middle ages, actors portraying the dead in stage plays wore yellow.  In Spain, executioners wore yellow at one time.  In Egypt and Burma, yellow signifies morning for the dead.  Yellow is often used as a color of warning, because it has good visibility.

I believe that my friend is quickly approaching crossroads in his life.  The path that he chooses to travel will determine life or death for his loved ones, including himself.  He has the final say.  In him lies the power of life and death.  The decision is his to make.  No-one else can make it for him.

God has placed me in my friend’s path not to condemn, ridicule, or judge, but to pray for him and his family, because God loves and desires life for them.  The dream was given as a warning of the devil’s plot to destroy everything my friend holds dear.  It is a heads-up call to act now before it is too late to make things right. 

Written by,

Papa Boyd